Changing your diet will help decrease symptoms of arthritis itself, pain, swelling, and stiffness. According to healthline.com the following foods should be avoided.
1. Sugar
- Carbohydrates high in sugar, such as processed cakes, cookies and baked goods, can alter your body’s immune response to disease, according to a reliable study.
- This reaction can worsen the inflammation and make your tense joints even weaker.
- Natural substitutes, such as pure maple syrup and honey, can soothe your sweet tooth without contributing to the symptoms of osteoarthritis.
2. Salt
- Eating too much sodium makes your cells retain water. This means they swell.
- Your body needs sodium to function. However, eating too much leads to an inflammatory reaction. This can contribute to joint damage.
- Use salt substitutes instead.
3. The fried foods
- The Arthritis Foundation points out that foods high in saturated fat, such as French fries and donuts, can increase inflammation in the body and make osteoarthritis pain worse.
- The oils used to fry food create a chemical reaction in your body and can raise your cholesterol.
- Consuming a lot of fried foods is also linked to obesity, which in turn can speed up the degenerative process in the joints; this is due to the additional weight and load placed on the knees and hips.
- Fried meats should be specifically avoided by people with arthritis.
- Use instead of olive or avocado oil.
4. White flour
- Refined wheat products, like white bread, stimulate your body’s inflammatory response.
- To avoid this, choose whole grains as much as possible.
- Avoid heavily processed bread products.
5. Omega-6 fatty acid
- According to Harvard Medical School, you should limit your intake of foods that contain omega-6 fatty acids, such as egg yolks and red meat.
- Saturated fat can increase inflammation levels in the body, which makes osteoarthritis pain worse.
- Saturated fat can increase inflammation levels in the body, which maEating foods rich in omega-3s, such as salmon, nuts, and soya, will give you the protein you need without making your osteoarthritis symptoms worse.
6. Dairy products
- Some believe that dairy products can cause inflammation in some people, which can lead to arthritis pain.
- One study found that people with arthritis who avoided animal milk and other inflammatory triggers experienced significant improvement in their symptoms.
- Research exploring the link between dairy products and inflammation is contradictory.
- But, it wouldn’t be dangerous to try and replace dairy products with a healthy non-dairy alternative like almond milk, to see how your body responds.
- Make sure to avoid the carrageenan found in these milks. It is an additive derived from algae that can cause gastrointestinal symptoms and weaken intestinal permeability.
7. Saturated fat
- Foods high in saturated fat, such as pizza and red meat, can cause inflammation of fatty tissue.
- In addition to contributing to the risk of developing obesity, heart disease and other conditions, it can worsen the inflammation of arthritis
